The retailers have commissioned 2,000 official Modbury bags, which could soon be collectors' items. Made in Mumbai, they will sell for £3.95. The shops have sent all their unused plastic bags to Newcastle where they are being made into plastic chairs. The town has also set up "plastic bag amnesty points" where people can drop off the bags they keep under the kitchen sink.

It's a great story about small business coming together, since they realise the international impact of plastic bag pollution.